Match report ... interviews ... player ratings from the Challenge Cup final GIANTS 01 Huddersfield Daily Examiner atWembley We’re GUTTED! COACH Nathan Brown has admitted his disappointment at failing to see the Giants lift the Challenge Cup at Wembley. His Huddersfield side were beaten 25-16 by Warrington Wolves after failing to produce the sort of performance that has made them such a major force this season. It was a bitter blow for Brown and his men, with the Galpharm chief unhappy for the fans who had turned out in such great numbers to watch their side try and win the Cup for the first time since 1953. “It would have been fantastic to have brought the Cup back, not least for the fans,” he said. “Their support at the final was sensational, and I really can’t thank them enough for the way they got behind us. “It was just a massive shame that we couldn’t deliver the performance everyone wanted. “We had a fair few people who were a fair way below their best, especially in some really key positions. “You have to give some credit to Warrington. They probably put in their best performance for a while. “The reality was the occasion probably got to some people. “Apart from their defence being good and our attack being pretty poor, we made some really uncharacteristic errors in defence. “We leaked a couple of easy tries which is very unlike us and even before that our attack never looked like getting going at any stage.” Nathan: Giants just didn’t deliver big performance Monday August 31 2009
Transcript
Match report ... interviews ... player ratings from the Challenge Cup final
GIANTS01 Huddersfield Daily Examiner
atWembley
We’re GUTTED!COACH Nathan Brown hasadmitted his disappointmentat failing to see the Giants liftt he Cha l l enge Cup a tWembley.
His Huddersfield side werebeaten 25-16 by Warrington Wolvesafter failing to produce the sort ofperformance that has made themsuch a major force this season.
It was a bitter blow for Brown andhis men, with the Galpharm chiefunhappy for the fans who hadturned out in such great numbers towatch their side try and win the Cupfor the first time since 1953.
“It would have been fantasticto have brought the Cup back,not least for the fans,” he said.
“Their support at the final wassensational, and I really can’tthank them enough for the waythey got behind us.
“It was just a massive shamethat we couldn’t deliver theperformance everyone wanted.
“We had a fair few people whowere a fair way below their best,especially in some really keypositions.
“You have to give some creditto Warrington. They probablyput in their best performance fora while.
“The reality was the occasionprobably got to some people.
“Apart from their defencebeing good and our attack beingpretty poor, we made some reallyuncharacter i s t ic errors indefence.
“We leaked a couple of easytries which is very unlike us andeven before that our attack neverlooked like getting going at anystage.”
Giants bittenHUDDERSFIELD Giantssuffered Wembleyheartache after failing todeliver on the biggest ofstages.Despite going into their
Challenge Cup final againstWarrington in great shape andwith confidence high on the backof such a magnificent season,coach Nathan Brown’s menproved a shadow of the usualClass of 2009.Their normally rock-solid
defence looked flimsy, while theywere unable to demonstrate anysort of attacking edge because ofthe amount of ball they dropped.It was, without doubt, in
complete contrast to theperformance that brought themtheir stunning semi-final successover St Helens and had raisedhopes of Huddersfield lifting theChallenge Cup for the first timesince 1953.It’s possible the below-par
display could have been due totoo many players suffering the bigfreeze or a touch ofover-confidence given therespective form of the two teamsbut, for whatever reason, this justwasn’t the Giants’ day.At the same time, Warrington
were right on top of their game,both defensively and offensively,
and were to produce the sort ofperformance that has beenlacking for so much of their SuperLeague season.The end result was, therefore,
almost inevitable.It was, however, inevitable
Warrington were going to comeout strongly after it had been thekey to their semi-final successover Wigan.But despite a solid opening first
five drives, the Giants’ hopes ofcontaining any early charge wereshattered.Brett Hodgson’s attempted kick
downfield was charged down byLouis Anderson, and althoughthe Giants skipper got back tocatch his man after it did appearthe Wolves man may haveknocked-on in securingpossession, the ball was swiftlyworked out for Richie Mathers tocrash over under the posts.Chris Bridge converted, and
Huddersfield were immediately onthe back foot.But within six minutes they had
managed to settle to the task anda Shaun Lunt effort was onlywiped out after the video referee
ruled a double movement.Two minutes later, however, the
Cumbrian hooker wasn’t to bedenied as he collected BrettHodgson’s pass after outstandingwork from David Faiumu to raceaway to score and for Hodgson toadd the goal.At 6-6 it looked as if the Giants
were right back on track.Unfortunately, that couldn’t
have been further from the truth.Straight from the kick-off
Darrell Griffin lost possession onthe first tackle and within seconds
the position had been created forLance Todd man-of-the-matchwinner Michael Monaghan tocross from acting half-back fromclose range with the minimum ofeffort.Bridge again goaled and, with
Huddersfield looking shaky inextreme both in attack anddefence, it was no great surprisewhen Warrington added theirthird try.From the restart, Lee Briers’
clever kick downfield wascollected by Chris Riley to makeground before he was held down
and Huddersfield werepenalised for lying on.And within a couple of
plays from the tap, Bridge hadfed Chris Hicks to finish offin the corner and run roundfor Bridge to bang over aneasier conversion.It could have got worse
four minutes later when MattKing touched down in thecorner from a Briers’ bomb,but video replays showed hehad stolen the ball from LeroyCudjoe when Riley was alsoinvolved in the tackle and thepenalty was awarded.That seemed to be the
signal for the tide to turn.In the 23rd minute it
appeared as if great workfrom Kevin Brown had putDavid Hodgson over in thecorner, but video referee PhilBentham cruelly ruled Lunthad obstructed former Giantsjunior Bridge in the build-upto the ‘score’.Lunt was then held up in
the 31st minute before LiamFulton’s grubber kick in the36th minute forced a secondWarrington drop-out in quicksuccession, and the Giantspounced.With Huddersfield now by
far the dominant power, the
ball was kept alive superblyon the right for Fulton,Jamahl Lolesi and Cudjoe tocombine magnificently forBrett Hodgson to finish in thecorner.Hodgson just failed with
the touchline conversion, butat 18-10 at the break theGiants were right back in it.For the Giants to stand a
realistic chance of mounting awinning Challenge Cupfightback it was always goingto be vital they didn’t concedethe opening second-half try.It looked as if Garreth
Carvell had thwarted thoseplans after seven minuteswhen he stretched out toscore, but the tackle hadalready been completed.Unforced errors again
proved the Giants’ downfallas they threatened to get ontop, and they were eventuallypunished as the Wolvespounced for a fourth scorethat appeared to bang theopening nail into the Giants’coffin.In the 58th minute, Briers
smart kick to the cornerforced a drop-out and fromthe next set Monaghan’s craftand strength provided VinnieAnderson with the space to
race in from 15 metres underthe posts for anotherconverted score.Bridge should have
extended the Warrington leadwith 64th-minute penalty butmissed with the narrowlystraightforward kick and onlyfantastic defence held upKing on the tryline.Five minutes later great
hands helped send PaulWhatuira racing away, butwith the cover doing its job,he was forced to find thesupporting David Hodgson,who was quickly wrapped upand the danger had gone.The winger was not to be
denied with five minutesremaining, however, whenanother great move gaveHodgson the chance to finishoff superbly in the corner.Giants skipper Brett landed
the touchline conversion andat 24-16 there was a slightglimmer of hope.But from the restart,
Huddersfield were unable toregister dream back-to-backscores and with a minuteremaining Briers sealed theGiants fate with a trademarkdrop goal to send home thefans in claret and gold bitterlydisappointed.
DossierGIANTS . 16Tries:Lunt (9), B Hodgson (37),D Hodgson (75).
Goals: B Hodgson 2 from 3.Scrums won: 6.Pens conceded: 6.Drop-outs: 2.
WOLVES . 25
Tries:L Anderson (1), Monaghan(12), Hicks (14), V Anderson (59).Goals:Bridge 4 from 4.Drop goal: Briers.Scrums won: 5.Pens conceded: 9.Drop-outs: 2.
Half-time: 10-18.
Attendance: 76,560.
Manofmatch
Momentofmatch
Moanofmatch
Refwatch
It may have come as asurprise to many that ShaunLunt started at hooker aheadof Scott Moore. But therecould be no denying the22-year-old Cumbrian wasone of the few big hits for theGiants on a day of bitterdisappointment. He scoredone excellent try and wasobviously desperatelyunlucky not to have hadanother.
Shaun Lunt’s superbninth-minute try on the backof the excellent work of DavidFaiumu and Brett Hodgsongot the Giants back to 6-6 andsuggested they might beabout to take control.
The general quality of theGiants’ play which was notup to its usual highstandard. There was toomuch dropped ball anddefensive frailty.
THE majortalking point onthe matchofficials’ frontsurrounded thevideo refereerather thanmatch referee Steve Ganson.But it did appear the majorityof the calls went against theGiants.
■ TRY TIME:: David Hodgson stretches over for his touchdown five minutes from thefinal whistle at Wembley. Pictures: Paul Welch (PW290809Cwembley)
■ OFF AND RUNNING: Giants’ Jamahl Lolesi outpacesWarrington’s Lance Todd trophy winner Michael Monaghan(above), while Shaun Lunt evades Louis Anderson (below)(PW290809Cwembley)
■ UNDER PRESSURE: Wolves’ Chris Riley denies Giantswinger Leroy Cudjoe. (PW290809Cwembley)
■ NO TRY: Shaun Lunt’s touchdown is disallowed.
byWolves
Monday August 31 2009 Monday August 31 2009
Defence failings are fully exploited by Warrington’s widemen
Giants bittenHUDDERSFIELD Giantssuffered Wembleyheartache after failing todeliver on the biggest ofstages.Despite going into their
Challenge Cup final againstWarrington in great shape andwith confidence high on the backof such a magnificent season,coach Nathan Brown’s menproved a shadow of the usualClass of 2009.Their normally rock-solid
defence looked flimsy, while theywere unable to demonstrate anysort of attacking edge because ofthe amount of ball they dropped.It was, without doubt, in
complete contrast to theperformance that brought themtheir stunning semi-final successover St Helens and had raisedhopes of Huddersfield lifting theChallenge Cup for the first timesince 1953.It’s possible the below-par
display could have been due totoo many players suffering the bigfreeze or a touch ofover-confidence given therespective form of the two teamsbut, for whatever reason, this justwasn’t the Giants’ day.At the same time, Warrington
were right on top of their game,both defensively and offensively,
and were to produce the sort ofperformance that has beenlacking for so much of their SuperLeague season.The end result was, therefore,
almost inevitable.It was, however, inevitable
Warrington were going to comeout strongly after it had been thekey to their semi-final successover Wigan.But despite a solid opening first
five drives, the Giants’ hopes ofcontaining any early charge wereshattered.Brett Hodgson’s attempted kick
downfield was charged down byLouis Anderson, and althoughthe Giants skipper got back tocatch his man after it did appearthe Wolves man may haveknocked-on in securingpossession, the ball was swiftlyworked out for Richie Mathers tocrash over under the posts.Chris Bridge converted, and
Huddersfield were immediately onthe back foot.But within six minutes they had
managed to settle to the task anda Shaun Lunt effort was onlywiped out after the video referee
ruled a double movement.Two minutes later, however, the
Cumbrian hooker wasn’t to bedenied as he collected BrettHodgson’s pass after outstandingwork from David Faiumu to raceaway to score and for Hodgson toadd the goal.At 6-6 it looked as if the Giants
were right back on track.Unfortunately, that couldn’t
have been further from the truth.Straight from the kick-off
Darrell Griffin lost possession onthe first tackle and within seconds
the position had been created forLance Todd man-of-the-matchwinner Michael Monaghan tocross from acting half-back fromclose range with the minimum ofeffort.Bridge again goaled and, with
Huddersfield looking shaky inextreme both in attack anddefence, it was no great surprisewhen Warrington added theirthird try.From the restart, Lee Briers’
clever kick downfield wascollected by Chris Riley to makeground before he was held down
and Huddersfield werepenalised for lying on.And within a couple of
plays from the tap, Bridge hadfed Chris Hicks to finish offin the corner and run roundfor Bridge to bang over aneasier conversion.It could have got worse
four minutes later when MattKing touched down in thecorner from a Briers’ bomb,but video replays showed hehad stolen the ball from LeroyCudjoe when Riley was alsoinvolved in the tackle and thepenalty was awarded.That seemed to be the
signal for the tide to turn.In the 23rd minute it
appeared as if great workfrom Kevin Brown had putDavid Hodgson over in thecorner, but video referee PhilBentham cruelly ruled Lunthad obstructed former Giantsjunior Bridge in the build-upto the ‘score’.Lunt was then held up in
the 31st minute before LiamFulton’s grubber kick in the36th minute forced a secondWarrington drop-out in quicksuccession, and the Giantspounced.With Huddersfield now by
far the dominant power, the
ball was kept alive superblyon the right for Fulton,Jamahl Lolesi and Cudjoe tocombine magnificently forBrett Hodgson to finish in thecorner.Hodgson just failed with
the touchline conversion, butat 18-10 at the break theGiants were right back in it.For the Giants to stand a
realistic chance of mounting awinning Challenge Cupfightback it was always goingto be vital they didn’t concedethe opening second-half try.It looked as if Garreth
Carvell had thwarted thoseplans after seven minuteswhen he stretched out toscore, but the tackle hadalready been completed.Unforced errors again
proved the Giants’ downfallas they threatened to get ontop, and they were eventuallypunished as the Wolvespounced for a fourth scorethat appeared to bang theopening nail into the Giants’coffin.In the 58th minute, Briers
smart kick to the cornerforced a drop-out and fromthe next set Monaghan’s craftand strength provided VinnieAnderson with the space to
race in from 15 metres underthe posts for anotherconverted score.Bridge should have
extended the Warrington leadwith 64th-minute penalty butmissed with the narrowlystraightforward kick and onlyfantastic defence held upKing on the tryline.Five minutes later great
hands helped send PaulWhatuira racing away, butwith the cover doing its job,he was forced to find thesupporting David Hodgson,who was quickly wrapped upand the danger had gone.The winger was not to be
denied with five minutesremaining, however, whenanother great move gaveHodgson the chance to finishoff superbly in the corner.Giants skipper Brett landed
the touchline conversion andat 24-16 there was a slightglimmer of hope.But from the restart,
Huddersfield were unable toregister dream back-to-backscores and with a minuteremaining Briers sealed theGiants fate with a trademarkdrop goal to send home thefans in claret and gold bitterlydisappointed.
DossierGIANTS . 16Tries:Lunt (9), B Hodgson (37),D Hodgson (75).
Goals: B Hodgson 2 from 3.Scrums won: 6.Pens conceded: 6.Drop-outs: 2.
WOLVES . 25
Tries:L Anderson (1), Monaghan(12), Hicks (14), V Anderson (59).Goals:Bridge 4 from 4.Drop goal: Briers.Scrums won: 5.Pens conceded: 9.Drop-outs: 2.
Half-time: 10-18.
Attendance: 76,560.
Manofmatch
Momentofmatch
Moanofmatch
Refwatch
It may have come as asurprise to many that ShaunLunt started at hooker aheadof Scott Moore. But therecould be no denying the22-year-old Cumbrian wasone of the few big hits for theGiants on a day of bitterdisappointment. He scoredone excellent try and wasobviously desperatelyunlucky not to have hadanother.
Shaun Lunt’s superbninth-minute try on the backof the excellent work of DavidFaiumu and Brett Hodgsongot the Giants back to 6-6 andsuggested they might beabout to take control.
The general quality of theGiants’ play which was notup to its usual highstandard. There was toomuch dropped ball anddefensive frailty.
THE majortalking point onthe matchofficials’ frontsurrounded thevideo refereerather thanmatch referee Steve Ganson.But it did appear the majorityof the calls went against theGiants.
■ TRY TIME:: David Hodgson stretches over for his touchdown five minutes from thefinal whistle at Wembley. Pictures: Paul Welch (PW290809Cwembley)
■ OFF AND RUNNING: Giants’ Jamahl Lolesi outpacesWarrington’s Lance Todd trophy winner Michael Monaghan(above), while Shaun Lunt evades Louis Anderson (below)(PW290809Cwembley)
■ UNDER PRESSURE: Wolves’ Chris Riley denies Giantswinger Leroy Cudjoe. (PW290809Cwembley)
■ NO TRY: Shaun Lunt’s touchdown is disallowed.
byWolves
Monday August 31 2009 Monday August 31 2009
Defence failings are fully exploited by Warrington’s widemen
04 GIANTSatWembley 09 Huddersfield Daily ExaminerMonday August 31 2009 05
Fans did us proud!
‘You were
TOP performer Shaun Lunt has hailed the rolethe Giants fans played in what he described asan ‘awesome’ Wembley experience.
Although the 22-year-old hooker admitted losing in theChallenge Cup final was a bitter experience, he was still able toappreciate the occasion and knows how lucky he is to haveplayed in such a major sporting event.
“I’m absolutely gutted to have lost. To have won the ChallengeCup would have meant everything,” said Lunt.
“But I still know how lucky I’ve been to be a part of somethingas big as this.
“I think it’s every schoolboy’s dream to play at Wembley, andthere are a lot of fantastic players who’ll never have the chance todo it. So I feel very privileged.
“And the support from the fans just blew us away.“To see so many supporters in the claret and gold was out of
this world and the noise they made was brilliant. That’ssomething else I’ll never forget.
“But, to be honest, I think it’s hard to fully appreciateeverything that’s gone on so soon after we’ve just been beaten,especially when we were all feeling confident we could got outthere and do it.”
Lunt was arguably the Giants’ best performer on the day,having a very eventful and somewhat controversial game.
As well as scoring one superbly-created try after nine minutes,he had one disallowed for a double movement moments earlierand was then penalised for obstruction by the video referee whenKevin Brown put David Hodgson over in the 23rd minute.
And the Cumbrian was far from impressed.“Those decisions also took some of the gloss off the day for
me,” he added.“I thought I scored under the posts, no doubt about it, and I
also didn’t think I should have been pulled up for obstruction. Iwas just running my line, nothing else.
“But there’s obviously absolutely nothing you can do about it,you can’t moan because that won’t do any difference at all.
“And I don’t think having my ‘try’ disallowed made anydifference, because I scored for real a few minutes later.
“Even in defeat, there’s no doubt scoring a try at Wembley is avery special feeling. I just hope there’s more to come!”
awesome’ – Lunt
■ ON THE WAY!: Shaun Lunt races in to score the Giants’ opening try after nine minutes in the Challenge Cup final at Wembley.
04 GIANTSatWembley 09 Huddersfield Daily ExaminerMonday August 31 2009 05
Fans did us proud!
‘You were
TOP performer Shaun Lunt has hailed the rolethe Giants fans played in what he described asan ‘awesome’ Wembley experience.
Although the 22-year-old hooker admitted losing in theChallenge Cup final was a bitter experience, he was still able toappreciate the occasion and knows how lucky he is to haveplayed in such a major sporting event.
“I’m absolutely gutted to have lost. To have won the ChallengeCup would have meant everything,” said Lunt.
“But I still know how lucky I’ve been to be a part of somethingas big as this.
“I think it’s every schoolboy’s dream to play at Wembley, andthere are a lot of fantastic players who’ll never have the chance todo it. So I feel very privileged.
“And the support from the fans just blew us away.“To see so many supporters in the claret and gold was out of
this world and the noise they made was brilliant. That’ssomething else I’ll never forget.
“But, to be honest, I think it’s hard to fully appreciateeverything that’s gone on so soon after we’ve just been beaten,especially when we were all feeling confident we could got outthere and do it.”
Lunt was arguably the Giants’ best performer on the day,having a very eventful and somewhat controversial game.
As well as scoring one superbly-created try after nine minutes,he had one disallowed for a double movement moments earlierand was then penalised for obstruction by the video referee whenKevin Brown put David Hodgson over in the 23rd minute.
And the Cumbrian was far from impressed.“Those decisions also took some of the gloss off the day for
me,” he added.“I thought I scored under the posts, no doubt about it, and I
also didn’t think I should have been pulled up for obstruction. Iwas just running my line, nothing else.
“But there’s obviously absolutely nothing you can do about it,you can’t moan because that won’t do any difference at all.
“And I don’t think having my ‘try’ disallowed made anydifference, because I scored for real a few minutes later.
“Even in defeat, there’s no doubt scoring a try at Wembley is avery special feeling. I just hope there’s more to come!”
awesome’ – Lunt
■ ON THE WAY!: Shaun Lunt races in to score the Giants’ opening try after nine minutes in the Challenge Cup final at Wembley.
Hodgson: Iwon’t“To be honest, I’ve never watched a
replay of my Grand Final loss withParramatta in 2001and I won’t bewatching this final again either.”Hodgson will, however, have to take
part in the review of the final, with theGiants desperate to find answers as towhy they under-performed so badly.“At this stage we can’t really put our
finger on it,” he added.“But for some reason we just lacked
cohesion and the effort to win thegame. We went away from thegameplan, and that’s something wehaven’t been doing.”Another player who may find it a
struggle to sit down and watch the finalis scrum half Luke Robinson.He came into the contest in a rich vein
of form, but admits he struggled tomaintain the consistency against theWolves.“People say the worst place to lose a
game is a semi-final and, havingbeen in
that position a few times, it is prettybad,” said Robinson.“But, believe me, it’s nothing
compared to how it feels to lose afinal.“I felt devastated at the end of the
game, and I know everyone else did,too.“Personally, I felt I let myself down
and my teammates down.“I’ve been playing consistently well
all season and that gaveme a great dealof confidence coming into the final.“Obviously, we knew it was going to
be tough against Warrington, becausethey can be a massive threat to anyoneon their day.“But we made it so much easier for
them to play well on the back of howweplayed, and that’s what’s the mostdisappointing part of it all.“Unfortunately, it’s safe to saywe just
didn’t do ourselves any justice at all.”
INSPIRATIONAL Giants captain BrettHodgson has revealed he may neverbe able to bring himself to watch theCha l lenge Cup f ina l aga ins tWarrington.Although the 31-year-old full-back
has admitted leading out the side atWembley is one of the top highlightsof his glittering career, the formerAustralian NRL star felt that came asvery scant consolation.“Losing a game as big as this
comes as a huge disappointment,even though the occasion was veryspecial,” said Hodgson.“I couldn’t believe how loud the
roar was when the crowd erupted.I’ve played in front of over 100,000back in Australia, and this wasloudest I’ve heard.“That’s probably one of the best
memories I’ll take from the final,because the way we played isn’tsomething I want to remember!
PlayerwatchGiants Wolves
FULL-BACK RICHARDMATHERS Scored the Wolvestry in the first minute to set thetone for the final.
Player rating – 8/10
WINGER LEROY CUDJOEThe Huddersfield-born backwas put under immensepressure but handled it well.
Player rating – 7/10
CENTRE MATT KINGPerhaps didn’t make theimpact expected but wasalways a danger to the Giants.
Player rating – 7/10
CENTRE CHRIS BRIDGEThe ex-Giants junior kickedhis former club to death with a100 per cent goal return.
Player rating – 8/10
WINGER CHRIS RILEYHometown hero who stretchedGiants on attack and defendedsecurely.
Player rating – 8/10
STAND-OFF VINNIEANDERSON Beware thewounded Wolf – returned froma head injury to touchdown.
Player rating – 8/10
SCRUM HALF LEE BRIERSEarned glowing praise fromthe opposition coach for a finedisplay.
Player rating – 9/10
PROP ADRIAN MORLEY Aleader who shirked nochallenge and perhaps shonein defence rather than attack.
Player rating – 8/10HOOKER MICHAELMONAGHAN Deserving of hisLance Todd award for aselfless and inspiring display.
Player rating – 9/10
PROP GARRETH CARVELLThe big man was denied a trybut put in a huge effort to pushWolves forward.
Player rating – 8/10
SECOND-ROWER LOUISANDERSON Sharp to createthe game’s first opening andput the Wolves on top.
Player rating – 8/10
LOOSE FORWARD BENWESTWOOD Workedtirelessly for the cause andproduced some telling tackles.
Player ratings – 8/10
SECOND ROW BENHARRISON An early rewardfor a youngster with a greatcareer ahead of him.
Player rating – 7/10
SUBSTITUTE MICHAELCOOPER The cup success isa great reward after his battleback to fitness.
Player rating – 7/10
SUBSTITUTE PAULJOHNSON Helped keep upthe Wolves momentum comingoff the bench.
Player rating – 7/10
SUBSTITUTE MICKEYHIGHAM Greeted by anovation as he took the fieldagainst the odds after injury.
Player rating – 7/10
SUBSTITUTE TYRONEMCCARTHY A medal win ononly his third seniorappearance for the Wolves.
Player rating – 6/10
FULL-BACK BRETTHODGSON Tried his heart outto get the win, but thoseefforts proved in vain.
Player rating – 8/10
WINGER CHRIS HICKS TheAustralian pitched in with afirst half try and somedangerous running.
Player rating – 8/10
CENTRE PAUL WHATUIRAApart from one great break, hewas also well contained by thekeen Wolves defence.
Player rating – 6/10
CENTRE JAMAHL LOLESIWas well marshalled andstruggled to make thehoped-for impact.
Player rating – 6/10
WINGER DAVID HODGSONTook his try well and wasunlucky to have anotherchalked off .
Player rating – 7/10
STAND-OFF KEVIN BROWNWas making a fair impact untilhe was forced off the field witha knee injury.
Player rating – 7/10
SCRUM HALF LUKEROBINSON By his ownadmission, he struggled tofind his top form.
Player rating – 6/10
PROP DARRELL GRIFFINTried hard, but was unable tomake any sort of tellingimpression on the opposition.
Player rating – 6/10HOOKER SHAUN LUNTDefinitely one of the Giantswho didn’t do his reputationany harm on the day.
Player rating – 8/10
PROP KEITH MASON Themainstay of the pack this yearfailed to give his side theusual outstanding lead.
Player rating – 6/10
SECOND-ROWER LIAMFULTON Found it hard to getthe better of opponents whowere ‘up’ for the challenge.
Player rating – 6/10
SECOND ROW STEPHENWILD A tireless worker asever, but on this occasion itwas no where near enough.
Player rating – 7/10LOOSE FORWARD DAVIDFAIUMU Produced one of thebest passes of the day to setup Shaun Lunt’s try.
Player ratings – 7/10SUBSTITUTE SCOTTMOORE Was unable to makethe same sort of impact as hedoes when starting games.
Player rating – 7/10
SUBSTITUTE PAULJACKSON Produced a soliddisplay, but failed to help turnthe tide.
Player rating – 6/10
SUBSTITUTE EORLCRABTREE Did his best toinspire his side with strongdrives, but with mixed success.
Player rating – 8/10
SUBSTITUTE MARTINASPINWALL Showed somestrong touches in what was asteady display.
Player rating – 7/10
watch final re-run
KEVIN BROWN fears his season may beover after being injured in the game that‘shattered all his dreams’.The 24-year-old stand-off was forced off thefield after 30 minutes after suffering medialknee ligament damage and left WembleyStadium on crutches and with his right leg ina brace.It also meant Brown was unable to walk thesteps to collect his Challenge Cup finalists’losers medal.But the former Wigan ace, who was in theWarriors side that lost to St Helens in the2004 Challenge Cup final at Cardiff ’sMillennium Stadium, admitted that was thelast thing on his mind.“What happened to me on Saturday has justshattered my dreams,” said Brown.“It just went from being hopefully one of thebest days of my life to definitely being one ofthe worst.
“When I lost with Wigan in 2004 as a teenagerit was tough to take, but this is 10 times worse.“Losing the final, particularly when we were soconfident we could come here and win, washorrible enough, but to pick up an injury thatI’m pretty sure will keep me out for the rest ofthe season is a nightmare.”Brown is due to go for scans to assess the fullextent of the injury, but he knew straight awayit wasn’t good.“I heard the knee pop, looked down and saw itwas all over the place,” he added.“There was no way I could continue. I just hadto put my hand up and hobble off.“That was obviously bad, but what made iteven worse was having to sit on the benchfeeling so useless.“I could see the boys trying desperately hard toput things right, but the more they did that themore they were compounding the errors andgiving away penalties on the fourth and fifthtackles.“And there was absolutely nothing I could doto help. It was a horrible feeling.
● GIANTS star Jamahl Lolesi is looking forthe next big date for the Huddersfield teamafter their Wembley disappointment.The 28-year-old Kiwi could not hide hisdisappointment at the 25-16 reversal at thehands of Warrington Wolves, but felt that thedefeat could kick the Giants on to betterthings.
“We have a good set up in terms of a mixbetween youth and experience and whathappened in the Challenge Cup final shouldhelp stand us in good stead for games tocome,” said Lolesi.“It was a big game and it probably took a lotout of us, but we have to use that experience.“We have to look at the Super League play-offsand think that we can be in another big gamewith the semi-finals of that competition.”However, the man who prides himself onlifting the atmosphere in the Giants dressingroom was far from feeling happy after theWembley defeat as Huddersfield failed to dothemselves justice.“It was very disappointing and things didn’t goto plan early on in the game,” he said.“Through the rest of the game I thought it wasfairly even and obviously we got a couple oftries rubbed off the board, but it was the startthat let us down.“First there was the early charge down andthen we missed an important tackle and we putourselves under too much pressure – the rest ishistory!”But the centre felt that, while the Giants hadmade themselves a mountain to climb, theinjury to half back Kevin Brown on the halfhour had not helped Huddersfield stage afightback.“You get low and you have to try and crawlyour way back out of the hole, but then we losta key player in Kevin Brown.“You cannot lose a half back, which is a keyposition, because it upsets the attacking gameand makes it harder to score points.“Having said that we still needed to control theball, we didn’t do that and Warringtondeserved their victory in the end.”
■ SHATTERED: Kevin Brown.
■ X_RATED VIEWING: Brett Hodgson can’t face a TV re-run of Saturday.
Hodgson: Iwon’t“To be honest, I’ve never watched a
replay of my Grand Final loss withParramatta in 2001and I won’t bewatching this final again either.”Hodgson will, however, have to take
part in the review of the final, with theGiants desperate to find answers as towhy they under-performed so badly.“At this stage we can’t really put our
finger on it,” he added.“But for some reason we just lacked
cohesion and the effort to win thegame. We went away from thegameplan, and that’s something wehaven’t been doing.”Another player who may find it a
struggle to sit down and watch the finalis scrum half Luke Robinson.He came into the contest in a rich vein
of form, but admits he struggled tomaintain the consistency against theWolves.“People say the worst place to lose a
game is a semi-final and, havingbeen in
that position a few times, it is prettybad,” said Robinson.“But, believe me, it’s nothing
compared to how it feels to lose afinal.“I felt devastated at the end of the
game, and I know everyone else did,too.“Personally, I felt I let myself down
and my teammates down.“I’ve been playing consistently well
all season and that gaveme a great dealof confidence coming into the final.“Obviously, we knew it was going to
be tough against Warrington, becausethey can be a massive threat to anyoneon their day.“But we made it so much easier for
them to play well on the back of howweplayed, and that’s what’s the mostdisappointing part of it all.“Unfortunately, it’s safe to saywe just
didn’t do ourselves any justice at all.”
INSPIRATIONAL Giants captain BrettHodgson has revealed he may neverbe able to bring himself to watch theCha l lenge Cup f ina l aga ins tWarrington.Although the 31-year-old full-back
has admitted leading out the side atWembley is one of the top highlightsof his glittering career, the formerAustralian NRL star felt that came asvery scant consolation.“Losing a game as big as this
comes as a huge disappointment,even though the occasion was veryspecial,” said Hodgson.“I couldn’t believe how loud the
roar was when the crowd erupted.I’ve played in front of over 100,000back in Australia, and this wasloudest I’ve heard.“That’s probably one of the best
memories I’ll take from the final,because the way we played isn’tsomething I want to remember!
PlayerwatchGiants Wolves
FULL-BACK RICHARDMATHERS Scored the Wolvestry in the first minute to set thetone for the final.
Player rating – 8/10
WINGER LEROY CUDJOEThe Huddersfield-born backwas put under immensepressure but handled it well.
Player rating – 7/10
CENTRE MATT KINGPerhaps didn’t make theimpact expected but wasalways a danger to the Giants.
Player rating – 7/10
CENTRE CHRIS BRIDGEThe ex-Giants junior kickedhis former club to death with a100 per cent goal return.
Player rating – 8/10
WINGER CHRIS RILEYHometown hero who stretchedGiants on attack and defendedsecurely.
Player rating – 8/10
STAND-OFF VINNIEANDERSON Beware thewounded Wolf – returned froma head injury to touchdown.
Player rating – 8/10
SCRUM HALF LEE BRIERSEarned glowing praise fromthe opposition coach for a finedisplay.
Player rating – 9/10
PROP ADRIAN MORLEY Aleader who shirked nochallenge and perhaps shonein defence rather than attack.
Player rating – 8/10HOOKER MICHAELMONAGHAN Deserving of hisLance Todd award for aselfless and inspiring display.
Player rating – 9/10
PROP GARRETH CARVELLThe big man was denied a trybut put in a huge effort to pushWolves forward.
Player rating – 8/10
SECOND-ROWER LOUISANDERSON Sharp to createthe game’s first opening andput the Wolves on top.
Player rating – 8/10
LOOSE FORWARD BENWESTWOOD Workedtirelessly for the cause andproduced some telling tackles.
Player ratings – 8/10
SECOND ROW BENHARRISON An early rewardfor a youngster with a greatcareer ahead of him.
Player rating – 7/10
SUBSTITUTE MICHAELCOOPER The cup success isa great reward after his battleback to fitness.
Player rating – 7/10
SUBSTITUTE PAULJOHNSON Helped keep upthe Wolves momentum comingoff the bench.
Player rating – 7/10
SUBSTITUTE MICKEYHIGHAM Greeted by anovation as he took the fieldagainst the odds after injury.
Player rating – 7/10
SUBSTITUTE TYRONEMCCARTHY A medal win ononly his third seniorappearance for the Wolves.
Player rating – 6/10
FULL-BACK BRETTHODGSON Tried his heart outto get the win, but thoseefforts proved in vain.
Player rating – 8/10
WINGER CHRIS HICKS TheAustralian pitched in with afirst half try and somedangerous running.
Player rating – 8/10
CENTRE PAUL WHATUIRAApart from one great break, hewas also well contained by thekeen Wolves defence.
Player rating – 6/10
CENTRE JAMAHL LOLESIWas well marshalled andstruggled to make thehoped-for impact.
Player rating – 6/10
WINGER DAVID HODGSONTook his try well and wasunlucky to have anotherchalked off .
Player rating – 7/10
STAND-OFF KEVIN BROWNWas making a fair impact untilhe was forced off the field witha knee injury.
Player rating – 7/10
SCRUM HALF LUKEROBINSON By his ownadmission, he struggled tofind his top form.
Player rating – 6/10
PROP DARRELL GRIFFINTried hard, but was unable tomake any sort of tellingimpression on the opposition.
Player rating – 6/10HOOKER SHAUN LUNTDefinitely one of the Giantswho didn’t do his reputationany harm on the day.
Player rating – 8/10
PROP KEITH MASON Themainstay of the pack this yearfailed to give his side theusual outstanding lead.
Player rating – 6/10
SECOND-ROWER LIAMFULTON Found it hard to getthe better of opponents whowere ‘up’ for the challenge.
Player rating – 6/10
SECOND ROW STEPHENWILD A tireless worker asever, but on this occasion itwas no where near enough.
Player rating – 7/10LOOSE FORWARD DAVIDFAIUMU Produced one of thebest passes of the day to setup Shaun Lunt’s try.
Player ratings – 7/10SUBSTITUTE SCOTTMOORE Was unable to makethe same sort of impact as hedoes when starting games.
Player rating – 7/10
SUBSTITUTE PAULJACKSON Produced a soliddisplay, but failed to help turnthe tide.
Player rating – 6/10
SUBSTITUTE EORLCRABTREE Did his best toinspire his side with strongdrives, but with mixed success.
Player rating – 8/10
SUBSTITUTE MARTINASPINWALL Showed somestrong touches in what was asteady display.
Player rating – 7/10
watch final re-run
KEVIN BROWN fears his season may beover after being injured in the game that‘shattered all his dreams’.The 24-year-old stand-off was forced off thefield after 30 minutes after suffering medialknee ligament damage and left WembleyStadium on crutches and with his right leg ina brace.It also meant Brown was unable to walk thesteps to collect his Challenge Cup finalists’losers medal.But the former Wigan ace, who was in theWarriors side that lost to St Helens in the2004 Challenge Cup final at Cardiff ’sMillennium Stadium, admitted that was thelast thing on his mind.“What happened to me on Saturday has justshattered my dreams,” said Brown.“It just went from being hopefully one of thebest days of my life to definitely being one ofthe worst.
“When I lost with Wigan in 2004 as a teenagerit was tough to take, but this is 10 times worse.“Losing the final, particularly when we were soconfident we could come here and win, washorrible enough, but to pick up an injury thatI’m pretty sure will keep me out for the rest ofthe season is a nightmare.”Brown is due to go for scans to assess the fullextent of the injury, but he knew straight awayit wasn’t good.“I heard the knee pop, looked down and saw itwas all over the place,” he added.“There was no way I could continue. I just hadto put my hand up and hobble off.“That was obviously bad, but what made iteven worse was having to sit on the benchfeeling so useless.“I could see the boys trying desperately hard toput things right, but the more they did that themore they were compounding the errors andgiving away penalties on the fourth and fifthtackles.“And there was absolutely nothing I could doto help. It was a horrible feeling.
● GIANTS star Jamahl Lolesi is looking forthe next big date for the Huddersfield teamafter their Wembley disappointment.The 28-year-old Kiwi could not hide hisdisappointment at the 25-16 reversal at thehands of Warrington Wolves, but felt that thedefeat could kick the Giants on to betterthings.
“We have a good set up in terms of a mixbetween youth and experience and whathappened in the Challenge Cup final shouldhelp stand us in good stead for games tocome,” said Lolesi.“It was a big game and it probably took a lotout of us, but we have to use that experience.“We have to look at the Super League play-offsand think that we can be in another big gamewith the semi-finals of that competition.”However, the man who prides himself onlifting the atmosphere in the Giants dressingroom was far from feeling happy after theWembley defeat as Huddersfield failed to dothemselves justice.“It was very disappointing and things didn’t goto plan early on in the game,” he said.“Through the rest of the game I thought it wasfairly even and obviously we got a couple oftries rubbed off the board, but it was the startthat let us down.“First there was the early charge down andthen we missed an important tackle and we putourselves under too much pressure – the rest ishistory!”But the centre felt that, while the Giants hadmade themselves a mountain to climb, theinjury to half back Kevin Brown on the halfhour had not helped Huddersfield stage afightback.“You get low and you have to try and crawlyour way back out of the hole, but then we losta key player in Kevin Brown.“You cannot lose a half back, which is a keyposition, because it upsets the attacking gameand makes it harder to score points.“Having said that we still needed to control theball, we didn’t do that and Warringtondeserved their victory in the end.”
■ SHATTERED: Kevin Brown.
■ X_RATED VIEWING: Brett Hodgson can’t face a TV re-run of Saturday.
■ DISAPPOINTED: Luke Robinson.
08 GIANTSatWembley 09 Huddersfield Daily Examiner
Davy –‘We’vegot togrow’
■ LEADING THE WAY: Chairman Ken Davy heads the Giants line up as they take to the Wembley turf for the Challenge Cup final. Pictures: Paul Welch (PW290809Cwembley3)
■ HARD LUCK: Giants forward Eorl Crabtree is consoled by Davy as he picks up his medal.(PW290809Cwembley3)
GIANTS chairman Ken Davyhas promised the fans hisclub will bring the ChallengeCup back to Huddersfield!
The man who has worked so hard toget Huddersfield back among the game’selite has admitted Saturday’s 25-16Challenge Cup final defeat againstWarrington at Wembley came as amassive disappointment.
But he has pledged to make sure thebitter memories are erased by bringingthe famous old trophy back to thebirthplace of rugby league.
“What happened on Saturdayhas come as a big disappointmentto everyone associated with the club,”he said.
“But what we have to do is ensurewe learn from this game, grow from itand continue to move forward.
“We are going to bring silverware backto Huddersfield, and I can assure youthat everyone connected with the club isdetermined to make that happen.
“When you look at the Challenge Cup,we have the best record in the
competition, behind St Helens, in recenttimes.
“Since 2004 we have reached three
semi-finals and two finals, which is aclear sign of the progress we have beenmaking.
“Our aim now, of course, is to build onthat excellent Challenge Cup record andbring back the top prize.
“With the progress we are making atall levels, we know that is definitelysomething within our power.”
Although it was clear after the gamethat defeat had hit Davy hard as heconsoled his Giants from the Royal Box,most of his thoughts were for thethousands of fans – around 20,000 – whohad made the trip to the capital.
“The support we received on the daywas terrific, and across the town ingeneral has been terrific,” he added.
“To see the fans wearing their claretand gold in such big numbers atWembley was a truly fantastic sight.
“We probably took twice as manyfans to Wembley as we did toTwickenham in 2006, and that is afurther sign of the progress we aremaking as a club.
“But I feel so desperately sorry forthem, as I also do for the playersthemselves, for the backroom staff andcoaching staff, that we couldn’t sendthem all home happy.
“I think we all shared a genuine beliefthat we were going down to Wembley tobring the trophy home, despite mostneutral observers believing the gamewould be too close to call.
“And I think that high expectation has
added to the sense of disappointment weall felt that we didn’t win. The playershad done a fantastic job to get us to thefinal after that magnificent semi-final winover St Helens, and that meant all ourhopes and aspirations were high.
“But on the day, it just wasn’t to be.“The ball didn’t bounce for us and we
allowed Warrington to dictate the gamein a ways that’s very uncharacteristic forus.
“We never seemed to fully recover fromthe disastrous start we made to the game,and I just wonder if those two tries thatwere disallowed against us played on theplayers’ minds.
“On top of that, their first score was asubject of debate and, at times like this,you just wonder if it’s simply not going tobe your day.
“At just eight points down at half-time,there was still everything to play for.
“But we unfortunately allowedWarrington to dictate the play and leftourselves with two much to do.
“However, we do know we live to fightanother day.”
